RWA, Sadhana Celebrate Krishna

The Rockaway Waterfront Alliance and the progressive Hindu organization Sadhana partnered to celebrate Krishna Janamashtmi, Krishna’s birthday, by kayaking and cleaning up the Jamaica Bay shore. Over the Labor Day holiday weekend, the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance partnered with the progressive Hindu organization Sadhana to celebrate "Krishna Janamashtmi" (the birthday of Krishna).

Traditionally, Hindus celebrate Janamashtmi at local temples, making offerings in their homes and to the water, but this year Sadhana decided that they wanted to give back to the community instead.

Rather than making offerings into Jamaica Bay, which often consist of non-biodegradable materials, Sadhana decided to celebrate by kayaking and cleaning up along the Jamaica Bay shoreline from Marina 59 to Dubos Point.

Sadhana co-founder, Aminta

Kilawan, describes this year’s Janamashtmi event as part of the organization’s larger environmental justice mission.

“At Sadhana, we'd like to step out of the box and give back to the world. Krishna was all about doing one's duty without looking for a reward, so we want to honor this by doing ‘seva’ (selfless service)” says Kilawan.

Project Prithvi is Sadhana’s green initiative that aims to apply Hindu environmental values in a practical way, by training and deploying youth environmental advocates into the Indian and Indo-Caribbean Hindu communities across New York City.

RWA was happy to take the group kayaking on Jamaica Bay and provide helping hands for the clean-up event.

RWA Program Manager, Blaze Jones-Yellin, believes this type of event encourages the development of young environmental stewards. “Incorporating environmental stewardship into cultural celebrations is a great way to instill positive environmental values and build respectful relationships between people and their environment.”

Sadhana encourages those interested in their environmental justice initiatives and future events to visit their website, www.sadhana.org.